Sen. Collins: Obama has a 'lack of foreign policy'

DOVER — U.S. Senator Susan Collins said on Friday that she feels like the world is on fire.

“There is so much going on in the world today that I don't even know where to begin,” Collins said as she sat down for a meeting at Foster's Daily Democrat.

Collins, who is known for pulling together the Common Sense Coalition, a group of 18 senators from both sides of the aisle and independent Angus King of Maine, said that the country lacks the kind of leadership in Washington to deal with the problems facing a modern America. As a result, issues such as the national debt, transportation, foreign policy, defense and illegal immigration are not attended to as hyperpartisanship stalls progress in the House of Representatives and Senate.

On the international front, a frightening rise in the power of the extremist terrorist organization ISIS, combined with Russian President Vladimir Putin's increased aggression in Ukraine, is a reflection of a “complete lack of foreign policy in this administration.”

“It has undermined America's place in the world,” Collins said. The senator said that President Barack Obama's indecision and weakness internationally has encouraged megalomaniacs such as Putin.

Collins said she recently met with three members of the Japanese parliament. The country has changed its Constitution so their military can operate offensively as opposed to just defensively, as it has since World War II. The citizens of Japan do not feel like they can count on the United States any longer, Collins said.

Collins, who served on the Homeland Security Committee for 10 years, said when she looks at the growth of ISIS and their seizure of territory in Iraq and Syria, she becomes worried about another terrorist attack in the United States.

ISIS, Collins said, has raised $125 million from European governments in ransom payments. The group, which is so violent that they were disowned by al Qaeda, has recruited thousands of Westerners, including a man from Britain who beheaded Rochester freelance journalist James Foley.

“I am not eager to be drawn into another Middle Eastern war, but we cannot ignore the fact that ISIS is a threat to us,” Collins said.

Collins said there are Islamic terrorist groups in 24 countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. She is frustrated by the countries in the region who have not been vocal or stepped up to the plate in dealing with terrorist organizations. She is especially frustrated with the Iraqi army, which the United States trained and provided weapons to.

The Republican senior senator, who is running for re-election this fall, said she has been to the White House to discuss foreign policy and defense. The problem is, the president didn't even stick his head into the meeting to say “hello” to the seven Democratic senators and three Republican senators who were in attendance.

Collins said she does not mean insulting the president; however, his leadership is a reflection of what happens when a person who is not qualified for the job is voted into office, she said.

Collins is running against Democrat Shenna Bellows, the former executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine.